Reuniting With Belwicket
by Charmed-Triquetra
Summary: Common theme for Sweep fics, but there you go. Morgan attends Dùbhlan Cuan and is discovered by fellow survivors of Belwicket. Includes Morgan's experiences at Dùbhlan Cuan...
1. Arrival

_A/N, I know that someone's done a similar fic, but this one is going to be totally different, I promise._

**Chapter 1**

I paid the man at the rental car place and went to retrieve my bags from the cab- or, rather, taxi- that brought me here.

Dagda mewed as I popped his carrier on the passenger seat and put the seat belt around him. He had the right to be annoyed- he had just spent several hours on a plane and several more in quarantine. I could tell that he was dying to get out and stretch his little kitten legs- I felt guilty knowing that his carrier wasn't exactly big enough for him.

At least I could bask in the fact that he was annoyed because he missed me, and not because he hated me. He misses our family almost as much as I do, I'll bet. Right now, they'd be sitting down to breakfast at some unnatural hour, with toast, eggs, pop tarts maybe…

My stomach grumbled. I wonder if they even sold pop tarts over here. Although from the way Hunter had reacted to them, I can only assume that they didn't. I'll have to find something new, something that contained the fatty goodness of a chocolate pop tart. I did try some of that Marmite stuff that Sky brought to Widow's Vale and I can sum what I thought of that in one word: gross. Hunter and Sky got a good laugh out of it though- apparently I had the look of death on my face when I ate it.

An unexpected laugh escaped my throat. Here I was, about to attend Dùbhlan Cuan- one of the most prestigious places to study the Craft- and I'm concerned about _Pop Tarts_, of all things!

I slid into the rental car- I'd chosen a Honda, to remind me of Hunter- and adjusted the upholstered seat. I suddenly missed Das Boot, despite its scary blue hood, and its outdated vinyl seats. I missed sitting in a car that was the size of a small ferry.

On the bright side, this car was fuel efficient, and it had air conditioned- perfect for the hot June weather.

A car honked and knocked me out of my daze. I realised that I was about to drive head on into another car, so I swerved into the right lane. Dagda's carrier slid across the seat, so I grabbed it with my left hand. He meowed at me, half out of irritation, half out of fear.

I really hope I can get used to this road system. The other driver gave me the finger before driving off at about 70 miles an hour. Charming! Glad to know that the drivers in the UK are similar to the ones in Widow's Vale.

Lucky for me, Eoife gave me easy directions to follow and I was headed towards the school in no time. As Dùbhlan Cuan came into view, I noticed how medieval this place looked- it was practically glowing with magick, too.

It suddenly occurred to me that I would be the only American student here. True, I was Irish and Scottish by genetics, but I was born and raised in the USA. I was going to stick out like a sore thumb.

I fingered my claddagh ring and traced the rune that Hunter had engraved on it. I wish Hunter was here to help me adjust, but he's in England with his dad. I'm going to have to get on without him here, and I can't exactly function when I keep thinking that I need my boyfriend to hold my hand can I?

I am Morgan Rowlands. I am strong. I can do this.

I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I picked up Dagda's carrier and we headed into the school.

It didn't take long for me to find the main office. The principle was seated at her desk, ticking off some kind of list. She looked very youthful, but she still shone with years of wisdom. Straight black hair, flecked with silver, framed her mildly tanned face. She must have sensed me come in, because she immediately looked up and met my eyes. If she noticed me assessing her, she made no show of it,

"Hello," she greeted me with a soft Scottish accent, "You must be Morgan Rowlands." She stood up and extended her hand, which I shook. She smiled,

"Eoife has been telling me a lot about you. I'm Mrs. Alder, although the students and staff refer to me as Shannen."

"It's great to meet you Shannen." I replied politely, stupidly worrying that my accent made me sound really informal. Shannen picked up the list, which I now knew was a list of students and where they were staying.

"You are staying in the student housing, correct?" Shannen asked me. I nodded,

"Yes." I wondered what my room would be like and who I'd be sharing with.

"Great." She started with another smile, "You'll be staying in room 175, with Ajeeta Mowry and Stacy Carroll. Both lovely girls, around your age."

She handed me a map of the dormitory. It was very simple and easy to follow. My homework journal from my high school was harder to read, so I've had a lot of practice deciphering maps. I shook her hand again and picked up Dagda, who meowed at me. This caught Shannen's attention.

"Isn't he a sweetheart? His name is Dagda, right?" I nodded, not really surprised that she knew his name, although I started wondering whether or not it was alright for Dagda to be staying with me- had the rules changed?

Shannen smiled reassuringly at me,

"Don't worry- you can keep him here, just as long as you have the proper facilities to house him." I nodded, almost too enthusiastically,

"I do- I've packed his litter tray, kitty litter, his bowl and his bed. I bought some food on my way here." Inwardly I cringed at the now high-pitched sound of my voice. I sounded like a young child eager to impress her new teacher. In a way, I was… but I didn't particularly want to sound like one.

I was pretty sure that Shannen had heard my rambling inner monologue, as she couldn't hide the look of amusement on her face. However, she made no mention of it. She kept the subject on Dagda,

"Is he comfortable sharing a roof with another cat?"

I didn't quite understand what Shannen was getting at, and a look of pure confusion and curiosity appeared on my face.

"One of your roommates also has a cat." Shannen explained. After mentally scolding myself for being so dim, I replied,

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He isn't a violent cat." Shannen nodded once more,

"Good. There shouldn't be any problems then. Just as long as he isn't carrying any diseases."

I shook my head earnestly, mildly scared of the possibility of my Dagda being ill. He meowed again, this time more insistent. I held the cat carrier to my head so that I was eye to eye with Dagda,

"Hey, you'll be out soon." I assured him. His feline features took on a form that could only be described as a frown. He almost seemed to be saying _'make it quick…'_

As soon as I retrieved my bags from my rental Honda, I headed up to room 175- my new home for the next two months.


	2. Roommate 1

_**A/N:** Second chapter is up! Yes, so here, we get to meet one of Morgan's roommates. Ooh- and no comments about Ajeeta from you guys who know me from Screen Scene, okay? Or those who know me in general…. Well, you get the idea._

_Read on and enjoy…_

**Chapter Two**

When I reached my dorm room, my arms were aching from the weight of my bags. I stumbled over to the larger of the two couches and dumped my bags on them, grateful that I didn't have to climb up any more flights of stairs with all my stuff.

I have yet to understand why I have so much make-up in one of my bags- I never put the stuff on unless I have someone like Mary K or Bree- or even my mom- at hand to prevent any clown incidents… I can't imagine what kind of mess I'd get into if I tried to do it myself.

Dagda's small paw swiped the back of my leg and I realised that, in the midst of marvelling at my mass of beauty problems, I had forgotten to let him out of his carrier. Apologising profusely to him, I undid the latch to the kitty carrier and opened the door. Dagda padded out and stopped to stretch, happy to finally out in the open. He was standing opposite an open door, which was revealed to be a bedroom. Dagda's eyes met the sight of the bed in the middle and bolted towards it.

Forgetting about picking up my bags to unpack, I ran after him. When I got into the bedroom, I found that it was larger than I expected. It appeared to me that, like the rest of the school, the historical appearance had been preserved, but it had some modern conveniences put in, like up to date electrical wiring. Always a necessity.

The room was split into three sections by beaded curtains, and each section contained a bed, a dresser and a trunk at the foot of each bed. I found Dagda on the middle bed- the first one he had spotted- kneading his paws into what appeared to be an article of clothing.

"Hey you!" I lifted the mischievous little feline from the bed, pried the garment from his claws and put it back on the bed. I held him at face level with both hands,

"No. No, we don't do that here." His paws kept moving in the motion he made when he was kneading, and he was purring.

"Cat causing havoc already?"

I jumped when I heard a voice in the room. I put Dagda on the floor and turned in the direction of the source, mildly surprised that I didn't sense anyone come in.

The girl was about the same height as me, with dark brown hair that settled just above her shoulders. The colour complimented her eyes of the same colour, although the style didn't flatter her face shape. Her face lacked make up and her hair held no product, but something told me it was because she chose not to wear it, not because she didn't know how to use it. She was slightly overweight and she was dressed in casual clothing: black sweatpants and a pale blue top that provided a strong contrast to her dark skin.

A pewter pendant hung from her neck, settling just below her collarbone. She wore a very warm and playful smile on her face.

I suddenly realised that I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights… especially since I hadn't answered her question yet. I stopped studying her,

"Uh… yeah. I'm really sorry." I picked up the clothing that my cat had tried to savage and held it forward, "Is this yours?"

The girl took it from my hands gently and inspected it. I realised now that it was a purple t-shirt with an image of a guitar on the front. Due to Dagda's sharp claws, several of the threads had been pulled and part of the design had been pulled off.

She looked at me, and I was relieved to see that she didn't look angry.

"Don't worry. These things happen- it's the price of being a cat person." She assured me. Her accent- although very English- was very different from the people I had encountered so far, and it sounded nothing like Hunter's, Sky's or even Daniel Niall's crisp British accents. I made a mental note to ask her where she was from.

"So… you're not upset that my cat ruined your shirt?" She laughed and shook her head,

"Of course not. I only wear that when I go to dance rehearsals anyway- it isn't anything fancy." Her mention of dance rehearsals surprised me- she didn't strike me as the dancing type,

"You're a dancer?" I asked.

"Yep- freestyle." She replied. I got the impression that I wasn't the first person to ask her that question. If she was offended, she made no show of it. Instead, she smiled, "But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Ajeeta Mowry. You must be Morgan Rowlands."

In a way that would have suited a 1990's sitcom, Ajeeta quickly pushed up her glasses that were sliding down her nose before holding out her hand for me to shake. I shook her hand and nodded to conform who I was.

"It's nice to meet you." I replied sincerely. I looked around, "So I take it that you're the roommate with the cat?"

"Indeed I am." She led me around to the side of her cat to reveal a medium sized cat bed with a tortoise-shell kitten sleeping inside,

"Her name is Pip. She's my baby. When I was leaving, she kept following me and crying when she was brought back inside, until my mum decided that she could live with me. We packed her up in a carrier and brought her with me. I couldn't live without her."

Ajeeta bent over and gingerly stroked Pip's head before straightening and gesturing at Dagda, who was curling up on her bed,

"What's his name?"

I scooped him up and put him on the bed that was intended for me,

"Dagda. I named him for my mother's cat. I live quite far away, so I sweet-talked my family- especially my little sister- into letting me take him with me."

Ajeeta nodded in understanding, obviously recognising from my accent that I was American, then offered to help me unpack.

I accepted and, as we did so, we got to know each other. I learned that Ajeeta was one of the few non-blood witches accepted into the school and that she felt a strong connection to the Burnhide clan. I asked her what part of the country she was from, and she answered that she was from Essex- a place she described as a little county tucked behind London. I told her about my being adopted and who my parents were (I was astonished that she knew full well of the Woodbane reputation and who Ciaran was and didn't hold it against me), although I left out a lot of the gruesome things that I had experienced since learning I was a blood witch. She knew about my experiences with helping to defeat the dark wave and she admitted to admiring me for it.

When I asked her to tell me more about the school, she told me the different rules that applied, who to stay away from, which teachers she found the best, and also of the sacred area of the school grounds. It was off limits except for esbats and Sabbat celebrations, when teachers and students alike gather to rejoice and participate in circles. She said that they kept a stone altar in the centre, and each student and faculty member had added something to it.

"There's a circle tonight welcoming the new students. All you need to bring is a tool you would like to contribute to the altar." Ajeeta explained as we finished unpacked and returned to the main room. As we sat on the couch, I frowned for a moment, racking my brain for something to give.

"What did you add?" I asked Ajeeta.

"Predictably, a crystal." She laughed, referencing her love of crystals, "I gave them a chunk of black tourmaline. When I leave Dubhlan Cuan for good, it will be given back to me. The item you choose doesn't necessarily have to be magickal, just as long as it symbolises you."

I must have had a totally baffled look on my face, because Ajeeta laughed again and got up,

"Think about it. I'll make us some herbal tea."


	3. Roommate 2

**Chapter 3**

I jumped for the second time today when the door burst open and a girl stomped in. To say she looked annoyed was an understatement. She was fuming,

"Ugh! I have had it, repeat, had it with men!" She swept past me and dropped herself onto the couch opposite me, raving about some guy who "screwed her over"… I'm hoping not in a literal sense.

While Ajeeta was very sweet, natural, slightly doughy in appearance, and a combination of air and earth, this girl seemed to be her polar opposite. She had long blonde hair- a slightly dustier blonde than Sky's- that reached below elbows, very shocking green eyes and prominent features. She wore a lot of make-up to enhance her already flawless pale skin and wide eyes. Her choice of clothing was more adventurous than mine or Ajeeta's- which she could afford to do because she had a figure that a lot of girls would kill for- sporting a tank top and tight cropped hipsters. As she waved her hands in fury, I noticed her fingernails donned a French manicure. Unlike Ajeeta, she didn't wear a pentacle; she wore a bronze sun glyph on a delicate gold chain.

When she finally stopped for breath, she noticed me looking at her,

"Who is this?"

"Morgan Rowlands, our new room mate." Ajeeta answered from the kitchen, "Morgan, meet Stacy Carroll."

Stacy's beautiful face finally took on the form of a smile as she greeted me warmly. It was then when she noticed what Ajeeta was doing in the kitchen,

"You're making tea, Age? Make me some too." She looked at me and grinned, "She makes great teas, brews and gem essences. But ask her to make anything else and it'll be the last thing you ever eat."

I could tell she was joking, and I laughed.

"I heard that!" Ajeeta said, although clearly suppressing a giggle, "I'll have you know that I am a good cook. I can make a pretty decent vegetarian lasagne."

Stacy lifted her hands in mock surrender,

"Okay fine. Do I get to have tea still?"

"Yeah." Ajeeta replied, "Just stop calling me Age. I'm older than you by a mere seven months. I'm not ancient, you know."

"Could have fooled me." Stacy retorted with a big smile on her face.

I grinned, sensing that these two had known each other a long time.

"Twelve years, to be exact." Stacy confirmed for me, "Too long."

"Ha-ha." Ajeeta called sarcastically as she picked up the three mugs in a true waitress style, "What were you ranting about?"

"Andrew was giving me all these hints, right? So today, I thought 'hey, it's been three months, why don't I just call him up on it?'. I ask him out, and he's all 'I have a girlfriend'. I mean, who does that?"

Stacy launched into a bout of swearing and talking about what a rat this Andrew guy was, using words that I daren't repeat. She suddenly struck me as a warlike Vikroth, now that her face held the same furious look as she had when she came in.

Ajeeta settled the mugs of herbal tea on the coffee table that settled between the two couches and sat next to me. She smiled at me quickly, to assure me that, even though Stacy was a hothead, she was completely harmless. She turned to Stacy,

"Stace, I told you that men are just not worth it." She said. Stacy gave her a look that I could tell Ajeeta had seen a hundred times,

"That's easy for you to say, Lady Galahad, but I happen to like this guy."

I grinned inwardly at Stacy's reference to Sir Galahad the Pure. The fact that Stacy had referred to Ajeeta as the female version of this particular knight, I realised that the nickname didn't need any further explanation.

Ajeeta, ignoring Stacy's Galahad comment, sipped her tea and spent time convincing her friend that if this guy didn't see how great she was, then he didn't deserve her attention. Her voice held a certain bitterness, which I recognised… having had that same twinge myself until Cal kissed me for the first time. Although Ajeeta had never been romantically involved with a guy, she had definitely had more than her fair share of heartbreak.

Memories of Cal and Selene rose to the surface, still so recent and painful. Not wanting to vomit or cry in front of my new room mates, I pushed my feelings back down and sipped my tea.

I was taken aback by a combination of raspberry and rose… it was surprisingly delicious. I saw Ajeeta sip on her own tea and recognised that it was her favourite.

I suddenly noticed that Stacy was looking at me,

"What's your story?" She was asking.

"Sorry?" I asked, settling my mug down.

"Do you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

I was slightly surprised that Stacy had asked me whether or not I was straight, however subtly. That's something that I had never come across in Widow's Vale.

"I have a boyfriend, my muirn beatha dan." I replied, proudly, "His name is Hunter Niall."

"The teenage Seeker?" Ajeeta blurted, surprised.

"Yeah. Do you know him?"

"I know of him." She replied, "I met his parents when they came to our hometown looking for survivors of the dark wave about three years ago. Mrs Niall was very ill, so they stayed with my family for a few nights… until she had a vision of some kind and she and Mr Niall fled."

I felt a knot in my stomach, thinking about the dark wave,

"The dark wave… did it hit your town?"

"No, and I'm thankful for that every day." Stacy answered, "Some of the town's Pagans came down with the flu for a few days, but it ended quickly. Many of the local moots cast protection spells over the town in hopes that we would be fine. And I guessed they worked."

"Yeah, nothing says power like a large group of blood and non-blood witches, Shamans, Druids and Shuvanis working together."

I nodded in agreement and smiled.

Suddenly there were a few meows coming from the bedroom. Ajeeta looked at me,

"Pip!"

"Dagda!" I said at the same time. All three of us got up and ran into the bedroom and braced ourselves to see the two cats fighting. We all knew that if Dagda and Pip didn't get along, I'd have to move into a different room- something I definitely didn't want to do, as I really liked these girls.

We sighed with relief when we saw that the cats were merely playing with Pip's toys and having a game of Tug of War with a piece of string.

Ajeeta giggled, finding the display incredibly cute, and I soon found myself laughing too. I was definitely going to love it here.

_**A/N- Short chapter, I know. But I thought it would be best to cut it off here and change scene in the next chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we'll see the circle for the new students (Goddess, that sounded lame, but hey…). I haven't got enough feedback on my writing- please R&R people!**_


	4. The Circle

**_A/N – Yes, the long awaited fourth chapter is here! I decided ages ago to work on the story again, but decided to read all 15 books again so I could refamiliarise myself with the characters. Anyways, let us continue with the story._**

Ajeeta and Stacy lead me to the sacred area of Dùbhlan Cuan for the welcoming circle, both lost in the magickal feelings surrounding us. I took this time to study both of them in this new setting.

Ajeeta looked completely different to how she had looked earlier, wearing a flowing robe made out of thin, black crushed velvet, embroidered with silver sigils. Her dark brown hair fell around waves at the base of her neck, curling naturally in a way that made her seem more youthful and relaxed. She had slipped in contact lenses earlier to avoid the 'no jewellery at circles' rule.

Stacy wore a fitted forest green robe made out of natural silk with gold embroidery, with brought out the startling colour of her eyes. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail so that it was out of her way, emphasising her strong features. Both girls truly looked like witches.

As usual, I felt at home wearing my birth mother's robe, as it provided me with a sense of security. That my ancestors, the Riordans, were watching over me. Following Stacy's lead, I had plaited my hair to keep it out of the way. I hesitantly left my claddagh ring back in my dorm, knowing that I wasn't allowed to wear any jewellery. The ring finger on my right hand felt naked, longing to be embraced by the ring once more.

The faces of both my roommates held feelings of content, the knowledge that they were about to attend a circle- already shedding any negativity that had been affecting their day.

In contrast, my heart was pounding with anticipation and nerves. Although I had participated in circles before, with Kithic and Starlocket, I was really nervous. This wasn't like the intimate circles I was used to- where I knew everyone and they knew me- this was going to be a large circle where I only knew three people at best.

My nerves must have been quite obvious, because Ajeeta put her arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze,

"Don't worry, no one is going to eat you in there." She joked. I laughed at her random comment,

"No, it's not that… I…" I trailed off, not knowing how to vocalise my thoughts without sounding like a total wallflower. Although that had been the reputation I had in Widows Vale, that wasn't the image I wanted projected here.

"It's a new experience, and you don't know what to make of it." Ajeeta said, and I nodded, noticing that she wasn't actually asking me if that was how I felt- she was stating my exact feelings. Her accuracy surprised me. I knew that non-blood witches had ESP abilities, but not as strong as a blood witch. She could read me as well as Hunter, Sky or Alyce… and then it suddenly dawned on me that she must be unusually powerful to be accepted at Dùbhlan Cuan.

I was going to ask her about her abilities when Stacy suddenly announced our arrival into the circle area. It was a vast field bordered with various herbs growing to create a primary boundary. In the middle was a circular altar carved out of grey rockcovered in magickal items, which Iassumed must have been the contributions from the students that Ajeeta has told me about.There were many witches already gathered, socialising and welcoming new students, who were easy to spot as they were carrying their items toadd to the stone altar.

I cradled my own contribution to the circle- choosing to make a small pillow filled with herbs to promote relaxation. Ajeeta and Stacy had taken me to a local occult shop earlierso I couldcollect what I needed. We hadn't been in there long, but the difference in atmosphere compared to Practical Magick had made me feel slightly homesick. I knew this place would take a while to get used to- at least now I had friends to share this experience with.

The chatter amongst the students and teachers died down as Shannen Alder came to the centre of the circle,

"Merry Meet," she greeted us all, "If you would please take your positions around the circle and we will begin."

I stood next to Ajeeta, who had Stacy standing on the other side of her. On my other side was a boy about a year older than me. He cast me a sideways glance and gave me a grin as though he knew me. I smiled back nervously, not quite sure how to react. He studied me for a moment and, deciding that he hadn't actually recognised me, gave me an apologetic look before turning back in Shannen's direction.

_Oookay… _I thought to myself. I made a mental note to ask Ajeeta and Stacy about this guy after the circle.

"Welcome to Dùbhlan Cuan's first circle of the term." Shannen announced, "We have all gathered here to welcome back old faces as well as newcomers. After casting our circle, we will begin with our usual chants to raise energy and then move onto our welcoming ceremony."

After creating the circle boundary and purifying it with salt, Shannen picked four students to call the quarters. I observed as each one displayed their connection to their allocated element and summoned it to the circle. During this time I went over the chants in my mind. Shannen had sent me (and all other new students) an email with the lyrics. They weren't anything I had heard before, but the words were in English and simple to remember. I hoped that Ajeeta and the boy who had smiled at me knew the melody well so that I could catch on quickly.

The students returned to their places within the circle and Shannen thanked them,

"The chant we're using tonight will be 'Isis, Astarte'. Those of you on the left will take on the male version, 'Pan, Poseidon'."

Many of the students nodded in acknowledgement as Shannen began to sing,

"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana"

Her voice was extremely melodic and haunting. Within a few seconds, the male teacher standing on her left began the male equivalent chant:

"Pan, Poseidon, Dionysus, Cernunnos, Mithras, Loki, Apollo"

As their mixture of alto and soprano voices weaved through one another, the students and other teachers also began to sing the chants, raising energy and invoking the God and Goddess simultaneously.

As if on cue, all the participants within the circle began to move deosil, slowly gaining speed and dancing under the moonlight.

There were at least 50 or 60 people in the circle, almost all of them blood witches, and the energy being raised was more than I had ever sensed before. It was absolutely amazing. I felt incredibly elated; I felt like I was flying as the magick swirled around us and brought everyone closer together: bound together by an unconditional love for Wicca.

I was so involved in the energies within the circle that I hadn't noticed that I had picked up the melody of the chant almost immediately, following Ajeeta's lead. The dancing began to slow, but the chanting continued to become louder and faster paced. The circle came to a close when everyone stopped and threw their arms above their heads whilst singing the final note of the chant.

I looked around at everyone within my immediate vicinity, noticing that their skin was practically glowing with pleasure and euphoria. The air around us was crackling with magick, with a stronger intensity than I had ever felt in Kithic or Starlocket.

In perfect unison, everyone dropped their hands, and Shannen and the male teacher beside her walked to the middle of circle, next to the stone altar. The students who had been standing near them shuffled along to close up the gap, connecting everyone as a circle once again. Picking up my contribution to the Dùbhlan Cuan altar, I waited in anticipation to find out what the welcoming ceremony would be like.

**_A/N- I know, I know, the ritual isn't finished. But it will be in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading this- I expect many reviews! I have more time on my hands now, so I will be able to write more, so don't despair!_**


End file.
